Ink-Stained Fingers

Labeling oneself...

2011-12-14T14:06:00.003-05:00

Still working on top secret 'Haps stuff, but realize it's been over a month since I last updated anything...

As you may or may not know I'm a bit of a homebrewer. Turns out I've got a knack for it and am able to brew decent beers consistently. So much so that I figured it'd be time to start the marketing ball rolling (delusions of grandeur? damn right!) and get 'em some labels. I'll probably be trinkering with the look for a while, but might as well share what I've come up with so far. Wanna keep 'em simple, yet bold enough to stand out. Without further ado, here's round one:

Quick update

2011-11-02T14:34:00.002-04:00

Yes, I am still alive and kicking. Mafus' pages have been officially inked and passed off for scanning. Now I'm starting inks on Eric Henson's 10 page story for the 'Haps as well. Busy! Busy! Busy!

Also, it's Movember! Get yo' 'stache on and join up with Brimley's Lip Rangers for a good cause! I'll be humiliating myself all month and you should, too.

Vacation has come and gone...

2011-08-02T09:18:00.002-04:00

Refreshed and recharged to say the least. Putting KNOW IT ALL on hold for a couple weeks while I hammer out the inks on Mafus' pencils for our Perhapanauts back-up story. We've had the luxury of time on this back-up tale, but I'd much rather not procrastinate on it any longer. Clean the slate so I can fully delve into my own project.

That said, updates will probably be few and far for the foreseeable month since I won't be posting any of the 'Haps inks. (You'll just have to wait for publication, which will hopefully be sometime this year.) There may be a painting or two popping up soon, but other than that consider me on sabbatical. See ya soon!

A very skullish Father's Day

2011-06-20T13:43:00.002-04:00

I received a copy of SKULLS by local artist Noah Scalin (co-curator of the International Skull Appreciation Day show I took part in) for Father's Day. As sketching Page 14 wasn't going anywhere, I decided to do a little Pop and Kid skull duo. Hell, it was Father's Day, so why not? Probably spent 30 minutes on it total and I think it turned out okay. The only real problem was the wood was super soft and didn't really appreciate having eye-hooks bored into its back. Get the feeling that we'll hear a crash one night as the hooks give up...

As an added bonus, here's Page 13:

Slack

2011-06-14T20:18:00.002-04:00

I forgot to post Page 11 last Friday, so to make up for that oversight here's the pencils for both 11 and 12. Thumbnails for 13 tomorrow night and look for full pencils in a day or two. Peace!

Back to Know It All...

2011-06-08T12:07:00.002-04:00

Nice to start hanging with the characters again. Page 11 has already been sketched, so I just have to lightbox that mutha and —BAM!—halfway through pencilling the book.

Also, sorry for the arty-farty image. Been playing around with different apps on my phone.

And it's done!

2011-05-26T09:19:00.000-04:00

Dropping this puppy off in a couple hours. Shoooooooooooo.

Getting closer...

2011-05-24T09:41:00.001-04:00

...which is good because this puppy is due Friday.

Back from the beach

2011-05-17T09:24:00.002-04:00

Our regularly scheduled art posts will continue shortly...

Skull progress

2011-05-09T09:06:00.003-04:00

With the Flyers finally eliminated from the playoffs I've found a lot more time to work on the skull. It's getting close, but still probably have another 6-8 hours left before I'll be happy.

Hopefully everyone got out for FCBD. Lilah had a blast and raked in a nice little haul from our two store visits. I think my fave book of FCBD was the Cap/Thor book. Great art, fun story and FREE!

Bonehead

2011-04-20T10:31:00.006-04:00

I've obviously taken a break from the comic at moment and have been working on a skull (wait for it...) for SKULLS, the first International Skull Appreciation Day Exhibit. Kinda cool to be one of a hundred or so local artists selected to take part and while the deadline is still a month away I wanted to get cracking on it sooner rather than later. Cuz knowing my procrastinating arse I'd start the night before the deadline.

Sketched it out the other night after priming the skull (paper mache) and then took a Pitt brush pen to it last night. Of course, the Pitt pen doesn't really stick to the gesso the way I'd hoped and started smearing. Will be wearing gloves until I can get the underpainting on. Expect a lot of greens with some splashes of red.

As you can see, I've got a little helper on this project...

Pages eight and nine...check!

2011-03-31T08:03:00.003-04:00

One from page eight:

And one from page nine:

Can you guess which one was lightboxed?

Page Seven is finito

2011-03-14T08:23:00.003-04:00

At least pencil-wise. Also started the first oil painting of the year: a landscape, which is a first for me, surprisingly. A bit rusty with the oils, so it's taking a little longer than I'd hoped. (Read: I keep mucking up and have to do damage control.) Giving the painting a few days to set, so I'll be jumping back into Page Eight this evening.

Shades of pages yet to come

2011-03-07T07:35:00.002-05:00

A successful Drink & Draw with Mafus at Legend yesterday. Was hoping they'd still have Hopfest on tap, but had just killed the keg. Luckily, there was a firkin of Golden Ale and Brown that was dry-hopped with Cascades. Can definitely recommend a draught from the firkin over the Maibock, which I felt was wanting.

Almost finished sketching out Page 11, but decided it'd be better to head home than have another and risk incarceration. Especially with the monsoon-like weather. So without further ado here's a panel featuring The Boglin making some devil's concoction...

Page six and back on track

2011-03-06T08:24:00.002-05:00

After a slight creative derailment (read: Killzone 3) Know-It-All is back to steadily chugging along. Starting page seven today and will be meeting Mafus at the local brewpub for a little drinking and drawing this afternoon, where I hope to thumbnail pages 11 and 12.

And that's five pages pencilled...

2011-02-26T11:16:00.003-05:00

I believe there's trouble afoot!

Keeping things loose as most of the detail will come in the inking. Plus, it save's on erasing.

Four pages in the bank

2011-02-17T10:06:00.003-05:00

Here's a panel from page four. (May have drawn the lads too large to accommodate copy tho. Oh well.) Haven't lost momentum yet, which is nice for a change. Still there's another 18 pages left, not to mention the cover and whatever else I plan on throwing in this mug. Daunting, but doable. Especially since I'm enjoying the challenge again.

This place looks legit

2011-02-15T07:57:00.002-05:00

Three pages of Know-It-All have been pencilled and here's a little sample of page three. Seems like a nice place to stop, dunnit?

Hoping to get another one or two done this week. Things are progressing a lot smoother and faster than normal as I've finally come to terms with being a cartoony artist as opposed to a realistic one. Guess I got tired of fooling myself and it's been fun ever since.

Okay, back to the salt mines!

Thumbnails now more!

2011-02-04T11:20:00.002-05:00

As it's been posted over at Todd's Perhapablog I figured it'd be safe to post the whole thing over here, too.

As I've been waylaid with some funky virus from the wee lass I haven't had much energy or drive to draw over the past couple of days. Hoping to turn that around this weekend and maybe another page or two finished for Know-It-All. I'll keep you posted.

One and half pages down

2011-02-02T10:33:00.002-05:00

Finally got the ball rolling on KIA. Sorry for the lookalike as you may remember this panel's thumbnail from late last year. Figured I'd keep the story secret until the grand unveiling hopefully this spring or summer. At home with sick kid today, so we might get to spend some time up in the studio. Fingers crossed.

Until next time.

Know-It-All is back on track

2011-01-24T22:28:00.003-05:00

Riding on the coattails of the 'Haps Classic Cover...another page of KIA has been thumbnailed and ready to roll. Tomorrow night is Art Night in the Leaf house, so I'll start actually laying out KIA on bristol while Lilah colors/draws/holds court in her studio space.

Watched The Last Exorcism while sketching tonight. Not a bad flick. Drew very heavily (pun fully intended) off what Blair Witch started oh-so-long-ago. Decent, yet derivative. Rated M for Meh.

Now with more 100% more color!

2011-01-22T16:36:00.001-05:00

Inked, now onto the colors!

2011-01-20T08:41:00.000-05:00

Stay tuned, True Believers!

The days they come, but the years they go...

2011-01-13T12:44:00.003-05:00

Just when you thought I'd disappeared off the face of the internet—I'm back. Not much to report in the ways of high adventure, mainly because work's blowed up in the past couple of months and I haven't had the energy/drive/gumption to be creative after clocking out for the day. Not that work's slowed down much, but Todd's having a Perhapanauts Classic Cover contest over on the 'Haps blog and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to try to get some mojo flowing with an entry. The deadline is the end of the month and I don't want to spoil anything, so I'm only posting a small section of my entry. I'll do the same with the inks in the upcoming days.

As to the mojo I believe doing this piece did indeed start something simmering. It also helps that Lilah has been on a definite art/coloring kick as of late. May have to set her up with her own drawing table in the studio and we can push each other artistically.

First brew of the New Year will be bottled this weekend: a chipotle porter, which I hope will have just the right amount of smokey bite to it. I'll keep you posted on that as well.

Still chugging on Know-It-All

2010-10-18T09:47:00.003-04:00

Don't want to keep posting page sketches to keep the story somewhat of a mystery, but will throw some art up in the next day or two. Goal is a page sketched out a night until completion and then I'll start in on the actual comic itself. (Gonna be hard with Fallout New Vegas dropping tonight at midnight.) Then the goal will be a page a week pencils until done (hope to increase that productivity as I get in the groove) and then 2-3 pages a week for inks. Sticking with black and white, so I should be able to letter it in a couple days after that. No set deadline, but everything should be done for Heroes next year.

In the meantime here's a snap of our young artist painting her pumpkin at the Edgar Allan Poe Museum yesterday.

Know-It-All

2010-10-15T07:35:00.003-04:00

Finally cracking on my story Know-It-All. It's been languishing, along with several other scripts I've written, but this tale is a one shot and much more attainable in my opinion. If I can get these 22 pages done and dusted I'm hoping it'll be the impetus to start on one of my actual series and keep that beautiful creative ball rolling.

That said I've been thumbnailing the heck outta the script this week with horror or hockey on in the background. (The way the Flyers played last night it was almost a creature feature between them and The Thing.) Here's a panel from page three. Just two lads out for a midnight boat ride in the swamp. Nothing bad'll happen, right?

The word balloon sez it all

2010-10-12T13:13:00.000-04:00

Expect a return to regular postings in the upcoming days. Thank you for your patience.

Afton Getaway

2010-09-27T09:02:00.002-04:00

Angie and I got away to our usual B&B in Afton County for an extended weekend of wineries, hiking and breweries. Last year the weather was horrible for hiking, but great for wining and beering, so we were both elated that the weather played pretty this go 'round. As luck would also have it the owners of the B&B had just gone a hike themselves and suggested we give Humpback Ridge a go. Feeling full of ourselves we set out and were promptly humbled by the 40 minute incline hike, but once on top it was worth all that pain. Heck, I even got a bit of vertigo, which was strange for me.

On the trail we passed this creepy tree that reminded me of some poor soul who had recently visited the executioner's block.

One of the numerous scenic overlooks on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Del Fossi was the last winery we hit before heading home. The terraced vineyard added a nice Tuscan feel to the place. Unfortunately, rain had moved in at this point, which imparted a more moody feel to the place. Still a beautiful vineyard despite the lack of sunshine. Excellent wine, too.

The mini-vacation was much needed, but it's also nice to be back home with the Dare Bear, who was on the verge of tears she was so happy to see us. (And the same could be said about Angie and I.)

Five years

2010-09-17T10:55:00.002-04:00

Of wedded bliss that is! Gaze upon the happy groom when he had hair and only one—okay—maybe two chins! Love ya, honey!

Back in the pond

2010-09-06T08:46:00.002-04:00

Hope everyone is having a lovely Labor Day weekend. Finally got back to the duck painting series and present number six for your viewing pleasure. Now I'm off to the Labor Day Sale at Velocity comics, then a Drink & Draw with Mafus at Legend.

Skullery Maid

2010-08-31T07:42:00.002-04:00

Had an idea for a character the other day and was all set to do some sketching. Of course, Lilah wants in on that action, so I didn't get the drawing to the level I wanted, but at least Lilah had herself some fun. (As witnessed by the squiggly lines dancing throughout the sketch.)

Pretty sure the Skullery Maid her is a villainess of some kind. Assassin? Ghost? Maybe once some meddling kids and their dog take the case we'll find out more...

Other than that I've been inking some 'Haps stuff, which I can't show and doing some other freelance illustration stuff. I could probably show them, but they're not that exciting. (Though somewhat profitable!)

We're back...

2010-08-15T22:08:00.004-04:00

Despite dangerous rip currents in the OBX (we witnessed an ocean rescue on Saturday) the weekend was excellent. Weather, company and time was much enjoyed by everyone. Back to business tomorrow night...

Miss ya, 'Ringo!

2010-08-12T15:05:00.008-04:00

As you've probably seen around the internet and various other friends posting and blogs that today is the third anniversary of Mike's passing. Funny how you think you're over something until the actual day pops back up or you're reading an old comic and there's that Marvel 'Ringo memorial page jumping out at you. Stops you in your tracks and you realize just how much the world lost.

Mafus has another excellent remembrance of his brother over on his blog. Pay him a visit and share a memory or leave a kind word.

If you'd care to, you can revisit my thoughts on Mike here.

Old Ones and Bum Wrists

2010-08-09T22:12:00.003-04:00

Been sidelined with a strained wrist for the better part of a week. (Save the jokes, por favor.) It's still crunchy, but the pain has diminished enough that I couldn't say no to inking an old drawing. For Cthulhu here I decided to go back to my quill roots. Even threw in some dry brush to jazz it up. All around a fun exercise that I hope to keep rolling along with. Though for Matt's pencils I'll probably stick with the brush and marker routine. (He draws so darn tight.)

Aight, I'm beat. Snoogans.

Channeling Neal Adams...

2010-07-29T20:11:00.000-04:00

Or at least I like to kid myself.

Cinco

2010-07-26T19:14:00.003-04:00

An ungodly hot weekend led to getting back on track with the duck paintings. I still owe two, but have the canvases, so I hope to get another couple done this week. In other news I'm about to get back on the inking horse and start knocking out those 'Haps pages that have been gathering dust. Especially in light of Todd's recent news. Then onto NOWERE...

Zuda dump

2010-07-22T08:46:00.003-04:00

Since Zuda is no longer around I figure I can share some of my entry pencils with you fine folks. (Especially since I've been lax in scanning my recent stuff.) The remaining three pages are already inked, so I won't repost them until I get everything done, colored and turned into a web comic of sorts. Still moving forward with NOWERE, but it will be some time before I get that sucker done and dusted.

In the meantime:

Post 200

2010-07-13T08:51:00.009-04:00

Update: Added a non-cellphone picture of Quatro and the oil painting.

Really wish I had something more exciting to post on such a grand occasion other than a piss poor cellphone snap of last week's duck, but the larger scale meant no scanning. (I still owe one for this weekend, but more on that in a minute.) For Quatro, as he's affectionately named, I decided to go large scale. For the previous three paintings I'd stuck with 4"x6" or 5"x6" canvas. It was a hot arsed weekend (100+) and I didn't feel like dragging Lilah out to the store, but I remembered Angie had picked me up a canvas with the new easel she'd gotten me for my first Father's Day. Checked me paint supply and figured I had enough to cover the larger surface, which I did.

Now this painting does represent Lilah and I's first collaboration. With the smaller size canvases it was easy to keep Lilah's wayward pencil from straying into my composition. With the 2'x4' canvas however she decided to stake out an area to create. Luckily most of that area was covered with the blue, but she did invade the yellow area, which resulted in a heavy layering of yellow to cover up the dark blue lead she's fond of.

All in all it turned out okay. I skimped on the shading and whatnot as my paints were dwindling. Plus, it's a pain on something that large. (I admit it, I'm lazy sometimes.) Lilah loves it and that's all that matters.

As for this weekend's duck, there wasn't one. I've been itching to do some oil painting since I started this duck exercise, so this weekend I had another canvas stretched and primed. I took a cellphone snap of it, but it looks even worse than the above duck, so I'll hold off posting an image of it until I can use our camera. The piece is a total departure from my usual work in the sense that it's abstract, something I've never done. (I like my some subject matter. Be it still life or portrait.) And, it's also all palette knife. No brushes. It was simple, easy, but very much fun. Plus, it was nice to smell oil paint again. (As strange as that sounds.) I'll take a snap tonight and post it for you fine folks.

Sick Day Sketch

2010-07-01T20:50:00.005-04:00

I've been laid low with whatever Lilah was juggling through her system over the weekend. I tried inking but was a little too shaky, so I just gave up and started watching horror movies. Most were just background noise while reading comics, but THE DESCENT seemed to garner my attention more than the others. Since I was still feeling the artistic drive I decided to give a Crawler sketch a whirl and see what shook out. Turned out better than I expected and it was fun to play around with the lighting. I'd like to feather and shade some more, but I'm still feeling pretty crappy. Mayhaps when I feel a bit better. Until then, this'll have to stand.

Also, Mafus pointed out to me that as of today Zuda is dead. Oh well, I guess I'll still finish what I've started, though now I wished I'd've drawn it for a regular comic as opposed to their web standards. My luck strikes yet again...

Duck III

2010-06-28T09:19:00.003-04:00

Here's this week's duck. Think I prefer last week's piece, but Angie and Lilah both seem to like this fellow, so what heck. It was a nice break to our stuck indoor weekend as the heat has been unbearable here. 100 degree weather and a 3 (or 35) year old don't mix, which led to some severe cabin fever. Luckily, there was plenty of World Cup on. Not so lucky was the U.S. or England or Mexico teams. Oh well. Argentina and Germany should provide plenty of entertainment, that is if the refs can stop ruining the matches.

Did get away Sunday for a couple hours for a Drink & Draw with Mafus over at Legend. Hadn't seen the lad in quite some time, so it was nice to quaff a few, sketch and talk geek. I've been rereading a lot of the old Jonah Hex comics as of late. (Probably trying to cleanse my mind of the recent movie. Haven't seen the flick, but the trailers were enough to leave a bad taste in my mouth.) Hence the Hex sketch. Mafus imparted the wisdom that cowboy hats are pain in the arse to draw after watching and listening to me struggle with Jonah's lid. Think I redrew that hat 3-4 times and I'm still not pleased with it. Oh well, at least the slightly drunk lady at Legend was impressed.

A now for something completely different

2010-06-25T09:31:00.004-04:00

(Click the image to play)

Starting to delve back into Flash animation and came across this scene I had worked on for Rex & Roxy's down in Atlanta. I moved back to Richmond shortly after starting the project, which then went the way of the dodo. Still it was a fun exercise, though all that drawing was a bit tedious. I think I had a good 100 or so of them done before calling it quits. As to those drawings whereabouts today, I have no idea. May have to do some digging this weekend...

Character revisit

2010-06-24T08:26:00.002-04:00

Didn't really care for an early design of a character for THE HOLLOW, so I revamped him to be a bit more menacing and Cthulhu-like. 'Cuz you can never have enough Cthulhu in your life.

Finally back to inking after mucking up a couple panels, but it's nothing a little Photoshop or white opaque can't fix.

Artistic weekend and initiative

2010-06-19T18:10:00.004-04:00

Had big bad weekend, as it was the first back with Lilah after 11 days. Farmers Market, art museum, art supply store and then painting. Lilah did a nice green painting with her new brush, but I had to do one as well. Since I've already done one Rubber Ducky painting I decided that I'd do another, which blossomed into the idea of a weekly Rubber Ducky painting. For another 51 weeks I'll attempt to complete a painting of a Rubber Ducky, which will turn Lilah's bathroom essentially into a Rubber Ducky Art Gallery. Hope you enjoy #2.

Testing the Beta

2010-06-16T08:02:00.003-04:00

A prelim sketch for a larger drawing for one of Lilah's favorite heroes, Beta Ray Bill. Need a better pose, but this is mainly an exercise in feeling out the character anyway, so I'm not sweating it. Look for bigger and better in the near future. (Though it may be a while since Lilah returns from her 11 day beach vacation with my 'rents tonight and I doubt she'll let us out of her sight.)

This a non-stop flight?

2010-06-14T22:28:00.003-04:00

If only real flights took just one panel...

Where does this map lead?

2010-06-11T07:10:00.002-04:00

We may never know...especially if I don't keep on inking these pages.

Panel peek

2010-06-10T07:16:00.002-04:00

Here's a quick look at Argus from my Zuda entry story THE HOLLOW. As Zuda's fate is up in the air, and I'm actually inking again, I thought it wouldn't hurt to keep the postings going and show what I'm striving to finish inking before Lilah's return. If Zuda comes back and I decide to enter I can always take these posts down, too, as their rules used to state.

Truly bummed about the Flyers losing game six last night, but the Hawks were the better team and, heck, they did end a 49 year Cup drought in the process. Oh well, there's always next season...

Two weeks later...

2010-06-08T08:38:00.003-04:00

Finally polished off Hellcat yesterday. Think it turned out okay for being rather rusty. I'd've like to kept tinkering with it, but decided it was time lay down the brush and get started on finishing THE HOLLOW inks. We're Lilah-less for another eight days and I'm hoping to get the remaining seven pages inked in that time. Pretty sure I can make it, especially since I also polished off RED DEAD REDEMPTION this weekend. A darn fine, immersive game. It's got me watching DEADWOOD again, much to Angie's dismay.

Also, my tooth finally appears to be in proper working order. Woo-hoo!

Coming up for air

2010-05-25T08:51:00.006-04:00

As you may or may not know, Mafus has challenged me to a sketch-off as I haven't posted anything is about two months. He chose Hellcat for this auspicious occasion, a character I know next to nothing about, only that she really likes the color yellow. Since I've been wanting to paint I decided I'd use watercolor and gouache for the challenge. Due to the long break in my creative endeavors I'm creaking like the Tin-Man with a severe case of oxidation, so I'm still on the underpainting portion of the piece. (Sorry for the crappy phone pic, but it was easier than scanning at the moment.)

I hope to polish it off in the next couple o' days as it's been energizing to pick up the brushes again.

Progress update:
Haven't gotten as much done as I'd like, but dealing with a bad tooth. (Root canal in the morning! Woo-hoo!)

Ides o' March

2010-03-08T10:46:00.003-05:00

Finally got around to polishing off the inks to Patrick's drawing. Think I got a little carried away at times. Especially with the background. There wasn't one drawn and the liberties I took didn't really pan out for me. Ach! Ink and learn, my friends.

Also finally got some nice weather this weekend and we took advantage of it. Lilah seems to be a bit of a natural when it comes to football. (I speak of the English sort, not American.) Two sunny days of kicking and passing with plenty of deck-time. Sucks to have to go to work on another 66 degree day.

Still plodding away on Zuda. Lost my mojo with these side projects/pieces and utterly missed my March 1st deadline. Shooting for finishing the pencils by St. Pat's and hopefully get a good jump on the inks for an April 1st deadline. Then there's coloring and lettering...

In the interim...

2010-02-23T18:45:00.004-05:00

Still chugging away at the Zuda entry, but already plotting another entry with some cohorts this time. We're trying to figure out the division of labor, so we're doing an inking swap. We both draw a monster menacing a damsel in distress and then the other will ink it. As I was watching BLACK DYNAMITE again, I was in a festive, campy mood and my monster turned into a '50's sci-fi movie monster. I'll post the inks to Patrick's piece once I've finished 'em. And if you haven't seen BLACK DYNAMITE already I highly suggest you rectify that situation. Can you dig it?!

Done

2010-02-03T21:31:00.000-05:00

Back to Zuda!

Only have lettering left...

2010-02-03T15:01:00.001-05:00

Starting off February right

2010-02-01T21:43:00.004-05:00

Here's an uncolored, unrefined piece for the AFRODISIAC contest being held at Velocity. Jim Rugg, one of the authors will be at the shop this Friday for a release party and will be judging the contest: AFRODISIAC vs. (?). I think you can guess who I placed him up against, but there'll be some slight modification with Toho's moneymaker before I'm through.

Still working on my Zuda entry and currently have four pages pencilled and a fifth started, but wanted to get something in the Velocity contest, so Patrick has a solid showing on Friday.

Crazy snow down/up here (guess we're technically almost in the middle) and they're calling for more tomorrow and then this upcoming weekend. Damn. I left the Midwest for a reason.

Halloween came early

2010-01-18T09:06:00.003-05:00

Lilah got into Angie's eye-shadow and zombified herself. I've been working on a Zuda submission and their rules state you're not allowed to post the artwork elsewhere, which explains my lack of posts so far this year. That said, things may be a little dry until I finish up my story.

C'mon, what're you waiting for?

2009-12-23T21:10:00.000-05:00

It's fun. It's easy. Everyone is doing it...

Seriously, have you tried a #2?

2009-12-22T21:04:00.001-05:00

Ah, the Kolinsky Sable #2

2009-12-22T08:05:00.000-05:00

I sure do love that brush.

Snowhug '09

2009-12-21T08:56:00.002-05:00

Her blue period

2009-12-16T07:39:00.002-05:00

Tried to get a quick sketch done for some Lilah portraits last night and, of course, I needed help. Luckily, Lilah was in bed when I transferred the final drawing to the board for painting...

Blackest Night, Bluest Drawing

2009-12-01T21:05:00.007-05:00

Okay, so I'm back after a long hiatus. Been reading Blackest Night and it got me thinking about a character I remember from way back in the day — Driq of Criq. Driq was a Green Lantern that was killed by Sinestro, but his ring refused to let him die. He was basically a zombie who spouted various moans and groans, but could still sling a ring and survive anything Sinestro could throw at him. Kinda reminds me of the Black Lanterns of today without all the drawn out hoopla.

That said, I keep hoping (or holding out) that Driq will again reappear as the hero of Blackest Night. Nothing against Hal Jordan and the rest of the Corps, but Driq was always an oddity, who stood out in my heart as an essential part of the Green Lantern universe — always ready to play a bigger role.

Now to the blue part of the title...Lilah makes it pretty much impossible to get any drawing done anymore. She sees Daddy drawing, she's gotta be drawing, too. Usually right on the page I'm working on. With Driq here she was drawing Spider-man. After awhile you start to see ol' Spidey...

Sure, I could draw after she goes to bed, but by then I'm usually done and ready for bed. I'm working on getting up earlier to get some drawing done or just resigning myself to dealing with plenty of non-repro blue (her weapon of choice) showing up on my work. I'm guessing it'll be the latter.

Hope everyone had a safe and happy Turkey Day.

Snoogans.

Since it's been awhile

2009-10-07T08:19:00.000-04:00

Just a quick sketch since I've been working on things I can't be showing you fine folks yet.

Contest inks

2009-08-30T16:07:00.004-04:00

Finally got off me arse and finished this piece. Doubt I'll color as my 'rents are in town and tomorrow's the last day to turn in entries. Think I'll just stick with Jesse's red eyes for a color accent.

Okay, I lied. I took a Copic marker to it and added some more depth. Unfortunately I did this at work and can't scan the piece again before I turn it in.

20 minute Ducky

2009-08-24T08:08:00.002-04:00

Had a mad moment of inspiration yesterday after Angie said, "You need to paint something for Lilah's bathroom. How about a Rubber Ducky?" About 20 minutes later here's what happened.

Bar Fight Pencils

2009-07-23T08:15:00.003-04:00

Submitted without comment.

Renfield

2009-07-22T09:46:00.002-04:00

Been meaning to post something all week, but birthday celebrations, filming and just plain ol' life got in the way. Here's the painting of Renfield I did for Angie's birthday. Nothing fancy, but Angie seems to love it, so I guess everything turned out okay. Still working on a contest for Velocity and I'm hoping to finally finish pencilling it tonight and maybe inking in the next day or two. That's all I got for now. Peace!

Blue blazes!

2009-07-07T09:32:00.003-04:00

Posted this over on the 'Haps forum in the Nova sketch jam, but figured I'd post it here as it's been quiet for a couple days. Still need to color our boy Nova in, which I hope to find time to do today or tomorrow. Also gonna try to snap a shot of the painting I did for Angie's birthday. (It's 2' x 4', so it's a bit hard to scan.) That's all I got for the moment. Hope everyone had a safe and happy 4th.

Color Update:

The loot

2009-06-25T09:59:00.004-04:00

Here's the major portion of my Heroes Con loot. There were a couple sketchbooks, art supplies and a Toon Tumbler I picked up, but figured it'd be overkill if I threw everything on here. I'll add stories later as I've got actual work to do at work.

Yet another sketch...

2009-06-23T22:02:00.002-04:00

I appear to be on a roll. Here's a refined thumb for page one of the story. Finished it while watching a horrid movie titled, 'Plague Town.' Save yourself an hour and a half of your life and avoid this movie, well, like the plague.

He's back...

2009-06-22T21:00:00.003-04:00

Okay, one more quick post before Angie and I hit the sack after a fantastic, but busy weekend. Got the comic bug again in a big way and set myself some goals for next year's Heroes. Those goals being having a 22-page comic completed and to lose 22 pounds. I got the ball rolling tonight by inking in some old character sketches for the story I want to complete and you can view that handsome devil up above. As to the weight, well, that'll start in the morning. Okay, bedtime for Bonzo. Peace!

Back from Heroes

2009-06-22T19:23:00.004-04:00

We made it back safe and sound with Mafus and Squeeze. Here's the color version of my cover as the one Todd posted came out super funky. (It was my fault. I sent Todd a CMYK file instead of the requisite RGB.) Stories to come...

The Lone Tear of the Heartbroken Choopie

2009-06-08T09:18:00.003-04:00

Had a somewhat creative weekend. Inked some 'Haps and penciled and inked my contest piece for the Ultimate cover. Lilah even helped with this one. (You can't see it, but there's a mass of blue pencil lines in the upper right corner.) Will color it up tonight and get it sent on to Todd hopefully tomorrow. (Though I'll hold off posting the colors incase Todd's posting all the entries.) That's all I got, expect a whole lotta meetings today. Peace!

How is it almost the end of May?

2009-05-26T07:24:00.003-04:00

Doing some inking exercises as Matt should be sending me some 'Haps pages very soon. Just been getting slammed at work now that I'm a full-timer and haven't really had any mojo when I get home. I always say I'm hoping to change that, but this time I won't. Maybe actions will speak louder than repeated words eventually. That said...did a little drink and draw with Matt yesterday and laid out the first page of a story I really, really need to start and finish. May play around with some inks on it tonight and if it's worthwhile I'll post it up.

Hope everyone had a nice extended Memorial Day weekend.

Suprised I remember my password...

2009-04-27T20:00:00.003-04:00

Been really dragging my heels as of late. No honest explanation other than procrastination, but as some more inking work will be flowing my way shortly I figured I'd better get back with the program and dust off my brush and quills. Really liked Reis' cover for Darkest Night, so I printed it out for light-tabling. Of course, I forgot that I don't have an oval template, so once I got to the rings I said, "That's enough. Move on." Fun though.

Believe it

2009-03-24T07:37:00.002-04:00

As it's House Week at Stuga Leaf there hasn't been much time to goof off with movies or video games. (Damn you, Resident Evil 5! Why must you be so addicting?!) So after doing some much needed housework I sat down with my sketchbook and worked on some character designs.

"What character? What story?" you might ask. Came up with the idea of doing an anthology of my horror stories as a graphic novel. I've really been dragging my heels on The Hollow as I don't know where it's going after the first two issues. But this anthology idea really lit the spark. I can do multiple stories in multiple styles and just have fun. It was slow at work last week so I adapted 'Know-It-All' to comic format. Probably one of my favorites and this charming gent is called The Boglin. I really really hope I can keep momentum going on this and get you swept up along with me.

Peace out!

Finished Doom inks

2009-02-09T21:22:00.003-05:00

Still don't know who drew this and I'm too lazy to look it up. Still going with Finch as it seems his style. Mostly brush work with a pinch of quill thrown in for good measure. Again it was fun to forget that I don't have to adhere to every line drawn, though I'm sure that attitude would change if it was a real gig. Becoming more and more a brush kinda guy.

I'm beat or I'd write more and since it's Monday (late, I know) this still counts for the three times a week deal.

Slack in the saddle again

2009-02-06T08:19:00.002-05:00

Another month gone by with only one post. Cripes. Why even bother, eh? Time to rectify this situation. Hunkered down and decided to sling some ink last night. Couldn't draw to save my soul was the main reason. Had this printout of Doom from some Ultimatum book or something. Think it's Finch's work, but not sure. I started trying to be all perfect and following his every line correctly, but it just wasn't any fun. If you draw that tight why do you need an inker anyway? Just digitally do it and be done.

Then a lightbulb went off in my head.

"You know, this is practice and for fun, right? Why don't you ink how you wanna ink and enjoy the process?"

After that I did start to loosen up and the brush flowed a lot more freely. Don't think I'm going to ink the whole thing, just Doom's mug as the rest of the page is all detailed bookshelves and floors about the size of grains of rice. Some pencillers are like guitar players: all about getting themselves off with their own work. It's not fun and doesn't inspire, it only makes art feel more unattainable to most. Okay, I'm stepping down from the soapbox...

Wanna try to get onto a 3-day-a-week schedule and get those creative juices flowing again. Peace out!

1st drawing of the New Year

2009-01-08T21:42:00.005-05:00

More a confidence builder than anything really. It's been quite some time since I last posted or drew much of anything. December wasn't kind to me. I was on antibiotics on two separate times and in between those times I had the flu. Robbed me of any drive to draw and depression set in. That and my friend, Anna, asked me to draw something for her, which I've only half-heartedly attempted.

And that brings us to Etrigan here. I received the Kirby Omnibus of The Demon for Christmas and really wanted to do a drawing of him for the blog. Then Mafus did one and the whole depression thing ate away at any endeavor to do so. Anna's deadline was still looming and anything I laid down on paper wasn't cutting it. I was wasting bristol like nobody's business. Then the idea popped in my head to actually do the drawing I wanted to do — Mafus be damned. (Not really, of course.) It was just what I needed. Feeling much better about myself and life in general. Actually looking forward to knocking out Anna's piece now, though that'll have to wait until tomorrow night and this weekend. (Sorry, Anna.)

Colors will come once I've taken care of my looming project. Be on the lookout. Hope everyone had a safe and happy New Year.

Slow Day At Work Bonus:

Two Candles Old

2008-12-08T08:15:00.008-05:00

Today the little Lilah turns two years old. It feels like she should be older though. Maybe it's just that she makes us feel old with all that energy of hers. We observed her birthday yesterday and it started off with a baby all of her own. She'd had so much fun with a friend's baby doll that Angie decided it was high time for Lilah to have one as well. Notice Lilah's mastery of the "I'll hold you by the throat 'til you drink" technique. Impressive, eh?

Before her guests arrived Lilah enjoyed one of her favorite things in the whole wide, wide world of sports: a bubble bath. Then she got all gussied up and awaited her adulation. She also learned that stockings aren't the best footwear to run around on hardwood floors. She bit it hard just as I was warning her that she might want to be careful. Some tears, hugs and shoes later she was back in action.

Aunt Squeeze and Uncle Mafus went above and beyond with the cake and party favors. It was a Curious George extravaganza and everyone had themselves a hoot and a holler.

One more for November

2008-11-30T14:20:00.005-05:00

Decided to get off my tuckus and get an entry in for Velocity's latest drawing contest. The criteria this time 'round was to take two characters and merge them together. I took the easy route and went with Man-Thing and Thing, so he could either stay Man-Thing or if you wanted to take it to the limit you could call him Man-Thing-Thing. (That'd be one heckuva Giant-Sized title, eh?)

Took a much simpler route also with this one as the super refined ones that Matt and I had done previously bore no fruit for all our extra labor. Bitter? Perhaps...or Naut?

Tag Team

2008-11-18T07:12:00.004-05:00

Was sketching around Saturday while Lilah was watching her favorite movie in the whole wide world: IRON GIANT. Was just about to start inking when Lilah noticed what I was doing, "Guy-Ant!" and wanted in on the action. Tried holding her hand while she went over the lines, but that didn't last long and she was soon scribbling away. Lost a Pitt Pen in the process, but worth it if it helps keep her interest in art.

Picked up a new, larger sketchbook yesterday as the small one I thought would be easier to cart around is really too small to do anything other than thumbnails and headshots. Also did page layouts for the first issue of THE HOLLOW and want to start cranking on that sucka while we wait for the second part of our 'Haps story. That's all I got.

Drink & Draw

2008-11-10T07:37:00.004-05:00

Met the 'Fus yesterday at Legend for a couple local brews and drawing. He threw down the Morbius gauntlet for our subject, which threw me as I kinda know the character, but not really. I had to actually wait for Matt to draw his so I could see what the costume looked like. I kinda gave him Spawn's wraparound cape/collar thing not knowing any better. For not having drawn anything for a couple weeks I don't think it turned out too bad. I definitely need a bigger sketchbook as the little one, while easy to tot around, isn't so great for working up decent drawings.

Barack The Vote

2008-11-04T09:25:00.004-05:00

Don't forget to vote today.

UPDATE: America, we did it. Thank you.

The Mad Cow O' Hallowe'en

2008-11-02T23:07:00.006-05:00

Since Todd asked...Lilah went in the cow outfit her grandparents bought her last year. She and I went around the block with her Hello Kitty goodie bag while Angie managed the candy back home. Lilah had people running in from their cars just for the chance to give her some candy. (It's true. She was that cute.) She finished the night with her favorite cartoon, Curious George, and that was that as they say.

Happy Hallowe'en

2008-10-31T14:39:00.010-04:00

Sorry for the lack of action around here. Been busy with the 'Haps story and obviously can't post that stuff. (Page 6 is done and dusted. Have maybe 2 hours left on the cover.) Sure I could've drawn something in my spare time, but there's been a lot of video games out, too, which have gobbled up those minutes. Plus, there's Lilah.

Speaking of Lilah...this'll be her first real Hallowe'en and she's attending her third such party today at school. Last night to get ready for the Creepy Evening we decided to carve up the pumpkins on our front step. Nothing fancy. I just took a knife and attacked one. Turned out okay for not drawing first. (I'll post a snap later when it's dark and I can take a shot.)

While carving Lilah took great interest in what was going on. This is a snapshot of what happened in the 10 minutes it took to carve up ol' Jack O' Lantern:

Lilah: "I say, father, this strange piece of fruit sure looks orange and delicious. May I sample it?"

Me: "Lilah, you really don't want to do that, honey."

Lilah: "Pish-posh, father. You're such a wet blanket. Variety is the spice of life as they say..."

Lilah: "Zounds, father! This victual tastes wholly unappetizing. I fear I may regurgitate. Thankfully, licking this chair has settled my quarrelsome stomach."

Me: "Told you so."

Lilah: "I shall never doubt you again, father. Your word is gospel."

Dolemite mutha@#&*%!

2008-10-21T09:08:00.001-04:00

I was just informed that Rudy Ray Moore has passed. Glad I'm wearing black today. Damn.

The Anniversary Weekend

2008-10-01T10:15:00.009-04:00

Angie and headed off to Charolettesville and Afton on Saturday for an extended weekend to celebrate our third anniversary. (My parents were kind enough to watch wee Lilah for us.) Our first night was spent in Charolettesville since all the B&Bs were booked, but that was okay since we hadn’t had Mellow Mushroom pizza in a long ol’ time and there’s plenty of used bookstores in the downtown strip. (Though the comic shop is now gone.) The Super 8 we stayed at we lackluster, but they had the Sci-Fi channel and a great Mexican restaurant across the street. Rested, we woke up and hit Monticello.

I'd never been to Monticello before, which was rather surprising as my parents constantly dragged us to such places as kids, so it was nice to see something like this with an adult eye. Jefferson was an enlightened soul, but had a few backward ways, especially when dealing with his slaves. For a short tour you gleaned a lot of knowledge about the man and the times. Not sure if it was worth $15 a person, but I'm still glad we went.

After that we headed towards the B&B in Afton, though we stopped at King Family Vineyards first. Angie had been there for her bachelorette excursion three years prior and loved the place as well as its wines. We ran through their wares, grabbed some lunch grub from their fridge and oven and proceeded to eat, drink and take in the gorgeous view. (Sorry, I don't have any pics of the place.) Half a bottle of Cab Franc later, we packed up headed over to Veritas.

Veritas was jam-packed, so after a few minutes of waiting we decided to come back the next day. We'd passed a brewery on the way over, so luckily we said, "Let's got check it out." I say "luckily" because en route we found out that the brewery is closed on Monday and they didn't open until 4pm on Tuesday. I would've been one sad camper. Blue Ridge Brewery is an island of beer in a sea of wine according to the tagline on their door and I'd have to agree with them. Angie and I struck up a conversation with the bartendress and enjoyed ourselves so much that we went back after dinner that night.

We checked into our B&B shortly thereafter (Afton Mountain B&B) and set up camp, crashed and woke up for apricot stuffed French Toast in the morning. To offset all the wine we'd soon be drinking Angie and I headed to Crabtree Falls for a hike. I kept calling it Cascade Falls because I thought it a more appropriate name. What follows are a series of pictures I took before our camera battery died. (I charged the other battery, but forgot it at home.)

There was a Santa Claus looking guy sitting on a nearby bench meditating at the base fall.

The next cascade up was my favorite. Kinda wish I had a sound chip of the falling water to include.

A close up of the second cascade. Love this pic.

Almost to the top.

And finally the view from the top. Shortly after we took this picture a VTOL aircraft went roaring through the valley. Was a bit unsettling.

From there we headed to Veritas and were the only people in the place, which was very nice after the madhouse of yesterday. After sampling and purchasing their wares our stomachs took us to Greenwood Grocery for some of the best sandwiches we've had in a while. (Angie got the Chester and I got the Italian.) We drove like crazy to Pollack Vineyards, so we could sample and get down to eating those lovely sandwiches. Pollack (Everyone hearts Casey!) had tables set up on their patio, so we settled down with a bottle of Vig and took in the sights and grub.

Feeling heady with wine and food we ran back to the B&B to drop off our purchases as not to have them spoil in the heat of the car. More wineries were calling our names, so off to Cardinal Point we went. (The nice thing about Afton/Nelson County is that all these places are within spitting distance of each other.) Another round of samples and an introduction to Obie the Winery Cat found us on our way to Afton Mountain Vineyard. Four vineyards in one day was more than ample, especially after our hike. We took our latest purchases back to the room, Angie napped and I went out for a pizza. We crashed, got up for pumpkin pancakes, hit a farmer's market and headed home to Lilah.

A good time was had by us both and it was extremely hard to come back to the city. We looking to head back for a daytrip with Lilah to hunt up a pumpkin for carving and to score some more Blue Ridge beer (we don't need any wine after all we bought this weekend).

In the interim...

2008-09-24T10:01:00.006-04:00

As I've been busy with page four and other sundry drawings I figured I'd post this as I don't really have anything else to really show. Kinda like the exclamation point Matt and I received. Page four has been fun so far. Using more quills than marker this time 'round for a more old school look and feel.

Also, played through Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. A fun game, but the camera was a little wonky and it didn't really rate a replay. The Force powers are a blast at first, but get very repetitious along with the button combos for taking out mini-bosses and whatnot. If you're a Gamefly member, it's worth a rental, but I can't see dropping $60. (My mistake is your gain.) You could always wait for it do drop in price or try to find the copy I traded in.

Page 2 inks

2008-09-13T14:15:00.003-04:00

This has been done since Wednesday (Page 3, too!), but I caught a nasty chest cold/sore throat combination right after that hampered my posting. I think I'll have Matt rescan it as I have to piecemeal the page together and my scanner isn't the greatest to begin with. After that some clean up and we'll be passing it along to Craig and Todd.

Assignment 3 Critique

2008-09-09T20:04:00.004-04:00

Joe Kubert makes it look so darn easy. Almost hurts my feelings. Well, maybe it does hurt my feeling just a little bit. He pulls no punches, but that's why I'm taking the course. He's a fount of knowledge and I'd do well to listen to what he has to say. So listen up, people, Uncle Joe is speaking.

Also,I sent a copy of 'Haps #1 with this assignment, hence Mr. Kubert's first comment on the page.

Also also, thanks to everyone on Renfield. Your words were very much appreciated.

Renfield

2008-09-08T08:45:00.003-04:00

Today our sick, little kitteh enters the clearing at the end of the path. That's all I got. (Except that's a very young Lilah doing her best Popeye impersonation while drooling on Angie's shoulder.)

Uno inks

2008-09-02T09:38:00.002-04:00

Busy at work, so I'll write something later. In the meantime here's the inks for Matt's first page of our 'Haps story.

"It's like, how much more black could this be?"

2008-08-24T13:41:00.001-04:00

"And the answer is none. None more black."

I now return to the 'Haps.

First post of August...

2008-08-21T00:09:00.003-04:00

And it only took me three weeks in to do it. A lot going on in the world of the Leafs. Most good, a little bad and some down right rotten. (The rotten being a very sick Renfield, one of our cats.) We're keeping our spirits up and enjoying every day.

Read my horde from the comic shop and couldn't sleep. I blame Doug TenNapel for being such an inspiration. Bought EARTHBOY JACOBUS today and couldn't put it down once I started. I know I've gone on about his work before, but Crom can that man tell a tale. Great stuff as usual and wholly inspiring. Kinda bummed that the glue holding the cover gave out though. Anyway, I messed around a little with this page earlier tonight, but wasn't feeling it and I really wanted to finish it. Mainly to loosen up my drawing hand and arm for some inking. After reading EARTHBOY I just had to finish, so here's the latest assignment for the Kubert course. You've seen the top left and right panel before and I put a little ink of them testing a new brush awhile ago. The middle-top and bottom panel are the newy new stuff. Gonna sling some ink on it tomorrow night and get the ball rolling. Okay, it's late and I'm starting to finally cool off. Peace out!

Tooth, Ink.

2008-07-21T20:52:00.005-04:00

Wanted to get something creative done before the dreaded root canal on Wednesday. Ol' Thing from QuickDraw was a nice little exercise. Kinda wish the flower turned out better, but I can't complain. It was fun slinging with the brush only tonight. Maybe I'll get a chance to color him tomorrow, if it's slow at work or on my day off Wednesday though I kinda doubt I'll really want to do anything after the dentist. Okay, time for Bourdain and Vicodin. Though I don't need one to enjoy the other, if you get my drift. Until next time....

Another Slow Work Day Bonus:

34

2008-07-19T08:49:00.005-04:00

Today is my 34th birthday as the title would imply. Kinda hoping to get something drawn/inked/posted, but as I had to go back to the dentist yesterday for intense pain, found out I need a root canal, which will confirm their theory that the tooth is "condemned," ground down my temporary crown to alleviate some of the pressure and then gave me a prescription for Vicodin...I'm not too sure I'll get anything creative accomplished today. Aside from opening cards and presents that is. Lilah's screeching and Angie's repeating "NO!" so I think I'll sign off for now.

Without further ado...

2008-07-14T20:33:00.010-04:00

I present Tom all inked and dapper from his QuickDraw adventure. Had some fun with him and pretty much stuck with a brush the whole way. Some of the spiky lines are about all I did with a quill. I'd've liked to have had this finished and posted earlier, but my littlest brother and his girlfriend were in town this weekend. Hadn't seen him since I got hitched and that's going on almost three years. Showed 'em some of the sites and we bought and played through Guitar Hero: Aerosmith in an afternoon and evening. Lilah had a grand ol' time with her other uncle, too, which was good 'cuz Angie was at the beach with her posse.

Slow Day At Work Bonus:

Hot Copic

2008-07-07T08:28:00.002-04:00

Oh what a weekend. Angie's birthday was the 4th, but the partying started on the 3rd and didn't really stop until yesterday. In between then we had 1/4" splinters in palms, twisted ankles, the return of Lumpy, and plenty of Justice League. Then to top it all off I just had a filling replaced this morning. Need another weekend to recuperate, but that's not happening as Angie's off to the beach this coming weekend with some peeps and I'm home with Lilah. My youngest brother will be arriving Saturday with his girlfriend, so I won't totally be solo all weekend, but it won't be a restful one regardless.

Enough belly-aching. Been playing around with the Copic markers I picked up at Heroes Con. Still learning obviously, but I think I'm getting a little better with 'em. Marked up this prelim sketch for my Thing Quickdraw with some decent results.

HeroesCon '08 - Photos

2008-07-01T14:24:00.008-04:00

As I haven’t gotten around to inking my Quickdraws figured I’d post a few pics that Squeeze was kind enough to take (especially since I forgot our camera). I try to stay out of pics, but when I do get captured I try to make ‘em memorable.

Craig and I mug it up at Heroes Aren't Hard To Find. A broken and dislocated thumb makes for a great photo-op.

The Man Hisownself, Mr. Nick Cardy. I think he had just finished telling me about latrines. Looking forward to seeing him again next year.

Dinner at Cosmos with Sharon, Todd and Trish. I blame the jambalaya.

Giving Todd a very serious look later at the hotel bar. This was before some dude thought we were laughing at him and Todd had to defuse the situation with his superior friendly nature.

HeroesCon '08 - Day Three

2008-06-26T09:06:00.012-04:00

Sunday started with little fanfare. No breakfast, though I did drink coffee, which is a rarity for me. Read SHANNA, worked on another sketch and waited for that magic hour of 11am when the convention opened. While in line I recognized a face in front of me - none other than Chris Sims of The Invincible Superblog. I stammered through a greeting and asked if he was drawing Batman yet. (He wasn’t.) I then asked him what W.E.I.R.D. was and before I could blink Jay Potts, his penciller, had placed a HARD ONES ashcan in my grubby little mitts. Nice work and a very nice guy that Jay. We continued to talk as the line moved and eventually parted ways as we hit the floor. I did a quick run over to the ‘Ringo booth for hellos before I had to head up for the inking panel at 11:30.

Not knowing what to expect from the panel, though I was hoping we’d be doing some inking exercises, I got a decent seat and proceeded to work on my Quickdraw idea. Thought I really had a chance today with the QD as I overheard the judges were looking for a drawing that told a story, so instead of humor I was going with a macabre theme today. But those thoughts had to wait as Roy Richardson began the panel. A very soft spoken man it was rather hard to hear him at times. The panel didn’t really teach me much more than I already know through the Kubert book and DVD, but it was good way of spending two hours and not any money. After the panel I headed back down for another quick visit with the gang before hitting Fuel Pizza again for a couple more slices.

I scarfed down my slices in the room and did some more sketching to keep the drawing fresh in my mind and hand. I decided to hunt down Evan Dorkin after talking to him the previous night. He had a small crowd around him, so I waited and picked up a copy of HECTIC PLANET and he was kind enough to do a quick drawing in the book for me. It's always nice to meet someone who's work you've respected and enjoyed and you find that they're good people, too. Makes the world seem a little better.

The hour of the QuickDraw had drawn nigh, so I headed over to try my luck one last time. Hopefully, the fear of an elder god would claim me some sembalance of victory. I present you with Cthulhu:

Hands smeared with pencil lead I headed back down to the floor to check in on the family. Everyone was around except Mafus, so Squeeze gave him a call. He said he’d found something for me and he was waiting in the 300 aisle. I refrained from yelling, “This is Sparta!” and headed over. Seems Mafus had found the volume of JLA ELITE that I was missing, so I snatched it up. Having broken the seal, so to say, I bought a few more items before listening to the list of QuickDraw winners without my name on it. Defeated again, we packed up shop and called it a con.

A quick change and we headed out to the after party at Heroes Aren't Hard To Find, Shelton Drum's store. Now I love me some Velocity Comics. They keep a mean store, but HAHTF is a flagship store if there ever was one. I could spend days and thousands of dollars in that place. Yowza. Beverages and food were provided, but the BBQ disappeared with a quickness, so we had to go elsewhere if we wanted vittles. Luckily there was a cajun place two blocks down. We hoofed it with a storm threatening and ordered up. The dinner was excellent, though they ran out of bread before we got there (I'm looking at you, Kirkman!), so the meal might have even been better with some baked goodness. We swapped stories and laughs before heading back in the rain.

As we had acquired Uncle Boom (Mark Waid) at dinner (thanks for dinner again, too!) we were even more cramped in the Squeeze-Mobile than before. Mafus and I ended up in the back and I had water running into my arse. Later at the hotel bar I'm sure the wet circle over my rectum raised many an eyebrow, but I didn't let me phase me as I was "assing" people many questions. Todd was handing out Choopie Butt Cards like crazy. It was rather amusing. (He even gave one to Darwyn Cooke.) A few drinks and we all called it a night as everyone was leaving in the morning. No sketching, just a little reading and then lights out.

DAY THREE LOOT:
ESSENTIAL HULK Vol. 1
HECTIC PLANET Vol. 1
INDIE ISLAND T-SHIRT (DORKIN)
JLA ELITE Vol. 2